Pairings: Natsu x Lucy, Gray x Juvia, Gajeel x Levy, Jellal x Erza and minor Gray x Lucy

Timeline: AU modern, highschool

Warnings: None other than mild cursing and violence…

Disclaimer: I don't own Fairy Tail

Authors Note: So thank you all for not flipping out! Like I said, Lisanna won't ruin anything. Thanks for all the reviews! Enjoy!

XXX

When Lisanna took Natsu's hand, I had to close my eyes and look away. It was almost too painful to bear. But, I wasn't going anywhere.

"Why do you do this to yourself? I think you're a masochist," Loke chided. "Do you like putting yourself in situations that hurt you?" His tone was colder than I was use to.

I held my chin up high, refusing to meet his eyes, "What does it matter? I love him."

Loke snorted, "You don't love him. You're in love with the idea."

I glare at him, "And what do you expect? Do you want me to fall in love with you? Tough luck there, you're not real!" I was being a bit of a bitch, but didn't Loke get it? Lisanna was back and I don't even know her relationship with Natsu. Then again, Loke was a mere figment of my imagination; shouldn't he be doing whatever I say?

"No," he said sadly, "but I wish I was real."

"How is that possible? You don't have a mind of your own. You were created to comfort me not make things more difficult," I snapped, suddenly feeling exhausted. Talking to Loke was being a major drain.

Loke stared at me, "You know what? Fine, be a selfish little girl. I wouldn't expect you to understand. Just because you created us doesn't mean we have to cater to your every beck and call. I'm sorry, Lucy, I do love you, but when you learn to grow up, it'll be too late." He ran his fingers through his hair. "I came to tell you something else, though. You don't need us anymore. You're friends with that violent red-head, the bookworm. Be happy Lucy."

I swallowed thickly, "I… no, Loke, don't go." I couldn't think about Natsu. How could my friends just leave me?

"Good bye Lucy, we won't bother you again," Loke whispered, bowing deeply at the waist.

"Please, stay with me," I pleaded and when he vanished, I noticed I was crying. My first friends in the world have left me just because I got real ones? I suppose that makes sense, but if it did, why does it hurt so much? I set down Nemo and peel off the mask, rubbing roughly at my eyes. Why won't the tears stop?

"Lucy…?" Natsu's inquisitive voice pulled me back. I glance up him, Lisanna hovering in behind him. Without thinking, of his feelings or the girls behind him, I hurl myself in his arms.

"I'm sorry," I whimpered, "I just said good-bye to someone and it hurts." Natsu wrapped his arms around me and rubbed his chin along the top of my head. I let out a sob.

Natsu's grip on me tightened and I felt better, just a bit. But the hollow feeling in my chest refused to part. It hurt to breathe.

After a few minutes of this pathetic behaviour, I pushed back and sent Lisanna a watery smile, "I'm Lucy."

The white blonde haired girl smiled back, thankful, "I'm Lisanna. Natsu just told me so much about you."

I nodded, pursing my lips. I probably looked like a mess. Streaked makeup and puffy red eyes. "Can I ask you a question, Lisanna?"

Her eyes widen, surprised, "I… yeah, sure."

"Do you know why Natsu likes fire so much?" Natsu opens his mouth to protest, but I silence it with a sharp glare. He shrinks back, sheepishly scratching the back of his head.

"Yes," Lisanna replied. "I guess you want to know why. When we were younger and his father was still around, we were camping. Igneel, his dad, left a lighter on the table and made Natsu promise he wasn't going to touch it. And I… I dared him to. Natsu used it, and he ended up burning down half the campsite." Her smile turned forlorn. "He likes the danger of the situation. He told me it was the thrill, he liked not being in control of what could happen next. It's my fault he likes fire so much, and I suffered the consequences."

I stopped breathing somewhere during her speech. This pure and innocent girl before me was the reason the guy I loved was a pyromaniac? Wait, suffer the consequences?

"What do you mean, suffered the consequences?" Natsu slunk back and I grabbed his hand, stopping him from leaving. He couldn't meet my eyes when I looked at him and settled for kicking a rock.

Lisanna stared at me for a long moment, "Do you care for him?"

Her question caught me off guard and I was a little offended she responded with her own instead of answering mine. "Yes, of course I do," I answered, my face more than just red.

She chewed on her lip, "For the longest time, I loved him. That's over now, but I did. I knew he was dangerous, but I also knew it was my fault he was dangerous. I wanted to change him, to make him better. I was but a moth drawn to a flame." Lisanna lifted up her shirt, revealing an ugly burn mark, winding around her waist and up her rib cage. "I got burned. See, Natsu was holding a lighter, and I tripped, silly me I guess, and the lighter caught my shirt on fire. Natsu was so scared he didn't know what to do, and neither did I. So I just froze up, terrified and by the time I my burns became as bad as they are, I had water thrown on me."

I was having difficulty stomaching this information. "So how could Natsu possibly still love fire?" I ignored her little love confession. That was in the past, or at least that's how she said it.

"I don't know," Lisanna answered, "you'll have to ask him that yourself." She let her shirt fall, giving Natsu a look. He didn't say anything. Lisanna hugged me, shocking both me and Natsu. "If you really love him, this won't bother you," she muttered in my ear, giving me a meaningful look when she pulled away. "I won't hand him over to you so easily if you hurt him."

I arched my eyebrow, focusing on our light banter instead of the ill feeling I had about Natsu's fire tendencies. "I would never hurt him. So you have nothing to worry about."

Lisanna winked, satisfied, "Good. I should go; I've caused enough trouble on your little date. Good luck with him, Lucy, he's a dummy." Lisanna waved and gave Natsu a quick hug before she disappeared into the crowd.

Without having to look at him, Natsu knew what I wanted. He sat back down next to our things and played with my fingers.

"I know it's a weird thing, but I can't help but love fire. I'm addicted to it. It's beautiful and dangerous and disastrous, but it's a part of me. Do you get it? I hurt Lisanna and yet she doesn't blame me for it. I have a problem, but I'm okay with it. Not with hurting Lisanna but okay with the fire issue." He sighs. "It reminds me of my father. He had a fiery personality and smoked constantly so smoke and fire reminds me of him. It's sick."

"I don't care," I said. Natsu's dark eyes flicker to my face in surprise. "That's part of who you are. You are Natsu Dragneel, the pyromaniac. Whatever happened in your past made you who you are now. You were a child when you hurt Lisanna, it wasn't your fault." I pause. "I find it endearing that fire reminds you of your father." I chuckle nervously. "Sorry, I really suck with words. I'm probably making this worse for you."

Natsu shook his head, "No, actually, thanks." He took out his lighter from the breast pocket of his jacket. Natsu flicked the turner, igniting a flame. "I feel awful for what happened to Lisanna yet she remained my friend. She just moved away and I felt like it was my fault." He grinned crookedly, but underneath that remained the sad smile I'd seen before. "But when I'm with you, I forget that I'm addicted to fire, that I burned a girl I care about. You make me feel… normal."

I giggled, punching him in the arm, "I guess you can say some out of character things too, Natsu." He smiled at me wirily.

"Can I say you bring out the best in me?" He touched his nose to mine for a moment. I sighed, relishing in that single moment. God I loved him.

He gazed up at the sky, "So you don't hate me for being a monster?"

I shake my head, following his eyes to watch the sky. It was so pretty. The full moon cast a bright glow over the darkness, millions of stars splattered across the dark palette. "Natsu, I could never hate you."

He shuddered a breath and stood, scooping up our stuff, carefully placing Nemo in an empty mask. I'd likely never forget what happened here tonight, but I wouldn't want to. I know Natsu inside and out now.

With a pang, I remembered what had transpired between Loke and me. I'd been so distracted by Lisanna's confessions and Natsu's words, that I'd completely forgotten. Now I felt worse. I wish Lyra was here to comfort me.

Natsu took my hand, "Come with me, I want to show you something." Curiously, as I locked away the bitter feelings I had left in me, I went with him, squeezing his fingers as my new comfort.

He led me to a secluded little meadow, surrounded by Sakura blossoms, the purest shade of pink I'd ever seen. "This is the best stop for when they turn rainbow." He babbled on about how we had to wait until midnight before it happened and then there would be fireworks. I'm excited and nervous at the same time. I'd never seen them before.

We laid back down into the soft grass, our fingers laced. Nemo swam happily in his bag next to us. It was so peaceful, a huge change considering the way we just came from.

"Natsu?" I begin, never letting my eyes stray from the profile of his face.

"Yeah?" Natsu turned his head to meet my eyes. I loved his eyes.

I hesitate before answering, until I remembered, he won't care. "I had imaginary friends. For the longest time while I was locked up in my father's estate, I created them because I needed them. And when I was crying earlier, they told me I didn't need them anymore as I had all my new friends… and because I had you."

Natsu laughs, boisterously, "That's so cool! What were they like?" I can't stop the smile I feel growing on my face.

"They were all amazing! Each had their own personality. I'll tell you about them later." I knew he would understand, I knew he cared about me.

His grin turns more mischievous, "You should make a novel about them, a way to honour them." I squeeze his fingers, smirking at him.

"When did you learn to read minds?" I teased.

"When I met you," he replied, inching closer to you. "Luce… I…"

There was no time like the present. "I love you." His sharp eyes widen, warming almost instantly.

"Me too, I love you too," Natsu whispered, rolling on top of me. His lips met mine and I liquefied. This was perfect. My eyes closed and I savoured his kiss. It was so perfect; fireworks went off in my head. No… wait…

We broke the kiss and fireworks boomed overhead. The colours exploded and faded out, accenting the overwhelming rainbow to the Sakura trees. It was so beautiful; it took my breath away, just like Natsu's kiss. We look at each other again, rapt, the beautiful view stolen by the other person's eyes.

And when we kissed again, it was sweet and not in any way described with explosions and butterflies.

XXX

Four years later…

High school had ended without a second thought. Those years whizzed by, I couldn't believe I was in University now. Levy and Erza remained my best friends, even Juvia joined the ranks of my group. And Natsu…

Things with the pink haired pyromaniac were as hectic as ever. Without his grandfather as the principal, Natsu was having a hard time with keeping his love of fire in check. I thought it was cute, but the headmaster of our University didn't find it as charming as I did when he lit the drapes on fire in one of the corridors. What can I say? He's warped me.

I stretch, cracking the stiff joints in my neck and wave to Levy as she leaves for a date with Gajeel. Admittedly, I wasn't sure how I would like dorm life, hell my father told me it was awful, yet here with Levy, I never felt more at home. Except maybe when I was with Natsu.

The little rainbow trout I caught at that fated festival with Natsu was still around and swimming, happily nibbling at its food. I had him in a small fish bowl on my desk. I still had to be cautious, especially when Natsu brought over his cat. That was almost a catastrophe.

I tapped my finger on the desk, thinking back to that festival. I did end up telling Natsu all about my imaginary little friends and he seemed to grow an emotional attachment to them as well. But, he told me I should write a novel on them. Thinking back even further when he yelled off the roof top that I was going to be a best-selling author, I think it's time to make that dream come true.

"Luce!" Natsu yelled from below my dorm window. I was two stories up and he had his hands cupped around his mouth. I rolled the chair to the window, waving down at him and blew him a kiss. "Come down! I miss you! It's all you can eat steak night!" I slid the chair back into place.

I laughed, calling to him that I'd be out in a minute. I just wanted to get something down. I picked up my trusty pen and cracked open the unused spiral bound notebook, and penned out the first words to my novel.

When I first met him, he was a complete and utter disaster. And absolutely beautiful.

~Fin

Thank you all so much for reading, reviewing, favouriting and following. Your support makes me so happy. I can't wait to see you all again in my other Fairy Tail stories. I love you all :D thank you again! (And see, Lisanna wasn't a bad guy!) See you again and I hope you loved this story as much as I loved writing it.

~Emerald~